AUGUST 7, 2006

Wirth and Honda

Former Simtek F1 team owner, Benetton chief designer and FIA consultant Nick Wirth is to be a major player in the forthcoming bid for Honda to win the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Wirth, who has been involved in Honda's IRL programme in recent years, is expected to be the man leading the design team for the Acura-branded chassis which will be seen racing in the ALMS in 2008 and at Le Mans in 2009. The final decision is yet to be taken as Honda might choose to partner Lola or Courage if it seems a better option.

At the moment Wirth's company Wirth Research is developing a Courage chassis for Honda. The Courage chassis will be used next year by the Andretti-Green Racing and Highcroft Racing while the Fernandez team will run a Lola B05/40.